In The Calm
by A Whisper Of Grace
Summary: Set after Zelena's defeat and a TLK. Emma takes a minute just to feel.


Her face carefully calm, Emma stared at the whiskey in her glass, watching the way that it moved as she slowly swirled her drink. The sight was in no way enough to distract her, but she kept at it anyway, oddly fascinated by the way that the soft lamp and firelight reflected off of the amber liquid.

Her mind should have been a mess, a frazzle of fear and worry and uncertainty, but those emotions had dulled a little while ago, without even the help of the drink. She'd been nursing the same one for over an hour, staring at it as though she was trying to find some answers in it.

She didn't need answers anymore, not about this. She loved him. He loved her. There was no way to doubt it, no way to try and talk herself out of it. She knew with certainty, had absolute proof that they were it for each other.

She'd never had anything like that surety before.

There was no denying True Love's Kiss, but even before she'd pressed her trembling lips against his frozen ones earlier that day, she'd known that it would work. She'd been tired of hiding the truth from herself, pushing her feelings to the backmost part of her mind, from denying the two of them the comfort that they could be finding in each other.

There'd been no time to react afterwards, however. No time to do more than process the look of relief and _love_ in Killian's eyes when he'd opened them, her action giving him the knowledge that she knew he'd been hoping for, waiting for. She might have saved his life, but the battle had still raged on for hours longer. Even though he hadn't let her leave his side from then on (even though she hadn't wanted him to), there'd been no time to talk about it, to find out where this left them or what this meant, aside from the obvious. Zelena had been defeated shortly after, but her monkeys had fought on, and had taken hours to capture. The knowledge that most, if not all, of them were actually townspeople had meant that they'd had to catch and cage them until they'd been able to figure out how to change them back.

She'd worked with Regina late into the night to find a cure, almost falling asleep into the test potion several times, until Regina had declared that it wouldn't be any use if they ended up poisoning them all instead. They'd regroup in the morning with fresh minds, and finally free their friends.

With just her luck, however, as soon as she reached the inn she found herself wide awake. Killian had reluctantly come back earlier with Henry to keep an eye on him, out of reach of the potion experiments happening at Regina's house, and she'd been hesitant to wake either of them by hanging around in either set of rooms, so she'd settled on the couch in Granny's main room, with a drink in her hand that she didn't really feel like touching.

The lack of panic was what had her the most restless, she knew. She should have been running for the hills, Henry in tow, maybe back to New York but maybe not since he'd know where to find her there. She should have been distancing herself the best she could, because that's what she _did._ There was no room in her life for romance, no room for another person to worry about. She was a loner, it's what she did best, so she should have been doing everything she could to _run._

Except she didn't need to. She wasn't afraid. She wasn't running. She wasn't a loner anymore, not at all. She had more loved ones in her life now than she had at all before, and she knew that she meant as much to those people as they did to her. Family. Home. The things that she never thought she'd have, were hers.

_Including Captain Hook..._

As though she'd summoned him, she heard familiar footsteps coming lightly down the stairs, and didn't need to look to know that it was him. A part of her relaxed when he came into sight, sitting down next to her without a word, leaning back against the cushions of the couch as though he belonged there.

(And he did, because it was next to her.)

There were a few inches between them, but she could still just feel his warmth and supposed that he'd just come from bed, dressed in the loose shirt and sweatpants that David had lent him. She wondered whether he'd been sleeping after all, or whether he'd been waiting up for her. From the corner of her eye, she could see him watching her but couldn't quite make out the expression on his face.

Leaning back further into the couch in an imitation of his position, she held out her glass to him and after a minute he took it, their fingers brushing. Just like she'd done, he stared down at the contents for a few long seconds before bringing it to his lips and taking a swallow.

Her lips twitched at the low sound of appreciation that came from his throat.

When she held out her hand, he passed the glass back to her and she took her first mouthful before setting it aside, dimly enjoying the burn at the back of her throat. The sound that the glass made when she set it on the wooden coffee table seemed to echo around the room, the crackling of the fire the only other sound.

There were so many things to say, that had been unsaid between them for so long but had now been forced from them. It wasn't as though it were too soon, not really. Certainly not for him, not after a year of separation, and not even for her, after a year of ignorance. There was so much lost time to make up for, but that was their problem; there was never time, not for the little things, not for the big things.

Zelena was gone, her flying monkeys almost dealt with, with no apparent threat on the horizon. But she was just so _tired..._

She kept her eyes straight ahead as she leaned back in her seat again after setting her drink down, even though she felt his eyes still on her. 'I don't know how to do this yet,' she said, her brow furrowing slightly. Her false memories and her relationship with Walsh had done a little in helping her to remember how to trust people - and look how well that had worked out. Even if that relationship had ended up being a lie, she knew how to _be_in one now, at least. But this was different. Would be different, she knew. This would be everything, would be -

_True Love._

She waited for him to say something, to tell her that he didn't expect anything from her, or that he'd show her how, or that they'd work it through together. When he didn't speak, she finally raised her eyes to meet his almost nervously.

She wasn't sure what she'd expected to see, but the complete and utter understanding in his eyes made all of the remaining tension flow out of her. The love that she found there was so strong that she could _feel_ it, in every part of her, like it was sustaining her. A gentle smile played at his lips and when he lifted his arm, she shifted across on the couch, closing the distance between them and slowly leaning into him, her back against his chest. She held her breath as his arm lowered around her shoulders, his hand curling around her upper arm and pulling her the tiniest bit closer.

Sighing, she closed her eyes, letting herself just enjoy this moment, this closeness, his body firm while his touch was gentle, the smell of him lulling her somewhat. That this could be just a regular part of her life seemed surreal.

His lips press against the side of her head. 'This isn't so hard, is it Swan?' he asked, his tone _almost_ cheeky.

She couldn't help but huff a laugh, and when he tugged her closer she elbowed him in response. She turned her head to make a snide remark, but he cut her off before she could say anything with his mouth pressing against hers. She leaned into him automatically, her heart jumping in her chest, moving her lips against his and that was all the encouragement that he needed. His hand came up to cup her head, his fingers threading through her hair and holding her to him, and she gripped onto his shirt, wanting to keep him as close as possible and _know_ him.

But before she could deepen the kiss he pulled away, his forehead resting against hers. She opened her eyes to find his still closed, a grin slowly spreading across his face and she felt a thrill that that reaction was because of her. He didn't even seem to have a dumb joke or innuendo to throw at her, although she wouldn't have hated him for it if he had. He just looked _happy_, and she knew that it would be enough, even if they were exhausted, even if the world had something more to throw at them, it would be enough just to know that -

'I love you,' she said softly, feeling more sure of anything than she had in a long time. There was no awkwardness, no regret, just everything that she felt for him, everything that she knew was right and true.

Killian's eyes flew open, and the surprise on his face was as though he hadn't truly understood what the whole _True Love's kiss_ had been about. 'Emma,' he said, his voice strained.

'Killian, I love you,' she said again, biting her lip to keep from grinning too broadly in her excitement, feeling freer than she had in a long, long time.

His thumb stroked over her cheek. 'I love you, Emma,' he told her, and although he'd been saying that for a long time with different words, in his glances and touches and actions, she felt a contentment spread through her to still hear him say it.

Leaning forward, she captured his lips with hers again. There was still work to do tomorrow, and there would probably be more villains and troubles that came up later, but she knew that they would deal with it together. Right now, there was just _this._

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